The five defining features of tomorrow’s libraries

In 2018, the Butuan City Library in the Philippines received an award for its efforts to serve its community. Located in the Caraga region, where over 40 per cent of families are poor, the library became an invaluable hub by providing e-government and computer literacy services to boost family incomes.

This effort to embrace digital transformation and engage new groups of users represents some of the key trends when it comes to the future of library technology.

While the core functions of libraries will stay the same, they are being enhanced by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven decision-making, said Civica’s Managing Director of Libraries and Education Solutions, Iain Finlayson, who shared the five key features of the library of tomorrow.

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1. Digital transformation

Digital transformation is the main overarching trend that will shape how tomorrow’s libraries will look like, shared Finlayson.

“Libraries are increasingly adopting digital collections and interactive resources,” he said.

Casual library users may be surprised to learn that many libraries are providing access to streaming services.

For instance, Singapore’s National Library Board offers members access to thousands of movies and documentaries on Kanopy, while the City of Sydney’s library has partnered with the Beamafilm movie streaming portal.

“If you’re looking for video content, ask your library what video content providers they have access to before paying your Netflix or Amazon Prime subscription,” said Finlayson.

Digital transformation means improving both the frontend as well as the backend systems, so integrated library management solutions, such as Civica’s Spydus, are important tools to drive such transformation.

2. Automation and AI

As libraries increasingly struggle with funding, there is a huge opportunity to embrace automation and AI to better manage resources and enable staff to work on more meaningful tasks, said Finlayson.

However, as new technology can strain budgets, it’s important to pick tools that can provide “efficiency gains almost immediately,” said Finlayson. Such tools will give libraries more value-added services quickly and in turn, support libraries in securing future budgets.

For instance, automated cataloguing efforts not only frees up time for operations staff and librarians, it also helps libraries immediately deliver new resources to patrons.

Recently, Civica worked with an Australian library to automatically tag thousands of photos contributed by residents.

“We used AI and machine learning to automatically tag all these pictures so they could bring that catalogue straight out to their patrons, without the need for years of cataloguing,” he said.

Thanks to AI, Civica was able to greatly reduce the time required to a week and better deliver local history to library patrons, he shared.

Finlayson cautioned that libraries should be precise about what they wish to use AI tools for, rather than rushing into AI projects.

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3. Data-driven decision-making

Another important key trend is using technology to drive data-driven decision-making, shared Finlayson.

Data can help libraries better understand their impact and improve their offerings to patrons, he noted.

It can support libraries in seamlessly analysing data on borrowing patterns, determine the reading habits of different users, and build better collections, he shared.

“For example, what do students borrow? We can use those insights to consider how we build collections for libraries. How do we structure those collections? Can we link that data to their academic outcomes?” he said.

However, as libraries embrace data-driven decision making, it is important to maintain data privacy, he said.

4. Reaching beyond traditional users

Digital transformation can support libraries in reaching beyond traditional library patrons, he noted.

This means going beyond traditional library users like students, and crafting services to engage people from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds or senior citizens.

“How do we engage with those people? How do you bring them into the library and make them feel that the library is a place for them as well?” he asks. For instance, Australia is home to the Library of Things Network, which enables communities to lend and borrow items beyond books, such as lawnmowers and pressure washers.

Library platforms like Spydus include many handy tools to improve a library’s outreach, such as event management and patron engagement - making it easier for libraries to host community events and provide services tailored to their communities.

Similarly, libraries can tap on these tools to better engage their staff with development and training programmes to progress in the industry, he said. Such programmes are one of the few alternatives to traditional pathways of becoming a librarian, which usually involves getting a post-graduate degree.

For instance, Spydus offers online and on-demand training courses that can support staff in upskilling, Finlayson said. In Singapore, Civica is training more than 400 library assistants on a regular basis with these tools.

5. Sustainability

As community hubs, libraries can also lead the way in terms of sustainability.

He points to Singapore’s public libraries as one example of how libraries can not only go green, but also champion sustainability for the community.

According to the National Library Board (NLB)’s annual report, Singapore’s libraries are on track to reduce carbon emissions, electricity use, and water consumption in accordance with Singapore’s green government initiative.

On top of that, NLB has run more than 280 sustainability-related programmes that reached nearly 17,000 people within 2023.

As libraries evolve, Civica will continue to strengthen their libraries’ ability to serve communities and provide services to those who need them the most. This is why they have introduced an ideas portal for customers to contribute internationally and drive the future of Spydus, said Finlayson.